Match in the Rain
by rainingWolf
Summary: She got one step, two, out the doorway before Shiro caught up, umbrella in hand, shielding them both from the caress of the falling water. In the silence of the rain, their hands found each other and they strolled to the bus stop./ shallura. slight klance. High School AU. Image source inside.


In a Japanese-esque high school AU...

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"HAH!"

"Point!"

Shiro grinned as Allura hit her match point and he could imagine a similar looking smile underneath her fencing mask. He wanted to wave to her but knew that at match point, his childhood friend would be so concentrated on trying to win that she had no eyes for anything else. Which is why it was kind of funny when Allura glanced his way for just a second and the girls behind him erupted into giggles.

"Ahhh! She just looked at me! Did you see?"

"No, you fool! She looked at _me_!"

The first girl who was talking pushed the second girl and immediately, the crowd's attention drifted away from the fencing match before them and onto the ensuing catfight. The second girl stumbled from the force of the push and her leg twisted, causing her to fall from her seat on the bleachers.

"Ahh-"

Her scream was cut short when Shiro caught the girl. He righted her up and she apologized profusely which he half-heartedly nodded to. Wanting to return to the match at hand, he was disappointed that by the time he managed to wring his hand away from the girl, the fencing match had already ended. Shiro started his descent from the bleachers and out of the gym when a sharp whistle made him pause. He stopped, looked to his left, and was rewarded by the sight of Allura's hair pooling out of the bun she usually wore like a waterfall; he stutter-stepped and was pretty sure his smile slipped further up his face as his friend flashed him a victory sign. He returned a tiny one back before making his way to the school entrance to wait for Allura to refresh.

As he waited, he saw his classmates leave and waved them goodbye. Lance, one of his underclassmen, made handguns with his fingers as a signal of farewell and Shiro returned it with a sheepish look on his face. The younger boy's face lit up and the senior resisted the urge to cover his face in embarrassment when at that exact moment, Allura popped up beside him, her hair curling around her face like white cotton candy.

Lance also shot at Allura who playfully returned fire by aiming the boy in the heart with her own handguns; the younger pretended he was wounded before one of his friends, Keith, exasperatedly tugged on the other's collar to haul him away.

"Does he say goodbye to you like this every day?"

Allura blinked at him and the familiar purple eyes comforted him. Shiro relaxed and replied, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, I think it's good that you're making more friends." Shiro huffed at her motherly tone and waited for her to finish putting her things away in her locker before turning to face the windows.

Rain had just opened up but it was a gentle drizzle.

At the sight of Allura pulling up next to him, pink notebook in hand, and not sitting down to wait for her uncle to pick her up, he asked, "Is Coran not going to picking you up today?"

"Silly! Today's Thursday!"

Ah. Of course. Today was the day Coran went to pick up Allura's parents from the airport. Allura's parents had been away on a diplomatic trip, leaving her behind in the care of Alfor's younger brother.

"Wait, then shouldn't you be heading home now so you can make it in time to welcome your parents?" He turned away from the window to quirk his eyebrows at Allura but she deflected by smiling instead.

"I'm taking the bus."

Shiro's brain stalled for second before it revved up again. "Wait. But it's raining."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Allura stuck out her tongue before turning to head out the door, clearly intent on just running it down the path to where the bus stop was.

She got one step, two, out the doorway before Shiro caught up, umbrella in hand, shielding them both from the caress of the falling water.

In the silence of the rain, their hands found each other and they strolled to the bus stop. No one else was there since most took the earlier buses home already so it was just the two of them and Shiro was pleased when Allura leaned on his arm as he read from her pink notebook. The smell of some familiar flower he couldn't name wafted to him and he couldn't help but squeeze her hand a little tighter.

The bus arrived too soon but it was worth it when Allura pecked him on the cheek before boarding the bus. He waved good-bye to her as the bus started its slow journey down the lane.

Today was a good day.

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\- Was inspired by an artwork by **s-enja** on Tumblr. Please check out her artwork! It's very cute and I tried to convey the feeling through this short snippet.

\- Also, thank you friend **sleapyGazelle** for giving me the prompt. Thank you for pushing me to continuously write at least once a week. What would I do without you?

\- I have 0 knowledge about fencing so this was written with me doing quick google search. If I have written anything wrong, please let me know!

\- And as always, I hope you enjoy the story. Please consider dropping a review if you like it! Thanks! :)


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